A Great Day to be Alive
by FABINALIVES
Summary: Eddie, a young but sadly unlucky teenager, moves to a new school in America. There, they start a pen pal project, partnering up with...you guessed it, an English school. When he's paired with a girl named Patricia, will there be more to their relationship than just emails and school requirements?
1. Prologue

So, here we are. My first ever Peddie multi-chapter! Please don't be harsh, I've tried to perfect my Peddie writing with _Still Here_, but this is a new experience. Check out my one-shot series Still Here and my first story House of Romance: What Should Have Happened for other mentions of Peddie! :) Without further ado, I do not own House of Anubis! Thanks and read on!

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Prologue

I never claimed to be perfect. Each time I opened my mouth to say it, even jokingly, I had to stop. Because that would be the time every memory, every word anyone said to me, would flood back.

Even though I masked myself well, I was still a broken person. The term "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is such a lie, and everyone knows it. Words may not have broken a bone in my body, but it tore me down. Bit by bit, every word took a little more of me away.

_You're such an idiot!_

_No one likes you._

_ You think you can get away with anything!_

_Your father abandoned you for a reason._

_Forever alone, Little Eddie Miller! _

_ What's one less kid at the party worth?_

_Even Xavier has a better chance with girls than you do!_

And Xavier actually went to social events, while I sat at home and helped my immobile mother. I had to care for her, but I didn't mind one bit. She was in a horrible airplane crash when I was five and it had paralyzed her legs. My mother was everything to me, but no one understood that since my father had left, I was her rock. My step-father was all right, but my mother was clearly not as in love with him as she had been with my father.

He left when I was seven. Maybe it was because my mother was too much of a burden. I tried not to use that excuse, because I wanted to believe my parents loved each other. Maybe it was to support the family, have a better paying job and send the money home. But that much needed money never came.

I wrote to him. Every day at first, then once a week, then every month, but after I never got a response, I stopped. My father didn't want to know me, I reasoned. He didn't want to learn about the nice boy who shared his lunch with me, or how I turned eight, or even that my mother cried for him. I cried too, but I never told him that. He would have thought I was weak, and wouldn't be proud of me.

Either way, he never wrote back.

Around the age of fourteen, I began to change. I went out at night, leaving my mother to fend on her own. She would ask me to make dinner, and I would grumble and complain. Sometimes, I would storm out, telling her to make it herself because I was tired of caring for her every need.

After two years of that, she decided that I needed to leave for a while. At the end of my sophomore year, she sent an application to a school in Britain. I knew what this meant: she was sending me to live with my father. She wanted me to calm down, maybe take a break from my routine life. Throughout it all, she remained calm and understanding. She was never mad, only unhappy that she couldn't be a true mother to me.

Now, I am constantly reminded of how I should have been a true son to her.

Britain had been the best thing that ever happened to me. America had held pain, hurt, and scarring memories. This new country was a clean slate, a chance to start over. And I did. I started over with my reputation, my goals, and, most importantly, my relationships.

With both my dad and the love of my life.

I learned why he left, why he never came back, why he didn't bother to write back. And I finally got the chance to love him. Love him like a son would. That may have been the second best thing that ever happened to me. In my entire life.

But you don't need to guess the first.

She had a story all her own, and at first I didn't know. I thought that after everything I went through, I would be able to recognize someone like me. But I was wrong. So, so wrong. But the best part was that once we knew each other, to the deepest and darkest parts, we still loved each other.

Being the protector of some sort of Egyptian hero was a huge part of my life, because it was always my number one priority. Even the smallest things happening to her, like a cut or a bruise, would send me running. It got annoying after a while, but I managed to deal with it. After all, it was what I was born to do.

There was so much of me that didn't make sense, or didn't quite connect with everyday reality. But that was what made me who I am today, no matter how hard I had to fall. Because I knew that somehow, some way, I would stand back up again.

I'm Edison Miller-Sweet, and this is my story.


	2. Chapter 1

Sooo, yep, I finally decided to update! Really, I did have a lot of work that had to get done. My birthday, school stuff, it all got in the way of my writing time. Sorry! Anyways, I don't own House of Anubis or Sick Puppies. And I don't actually know if the drummer has a lot of girlfriends, I just made that up. But his name is Mark, I found that on the Internet. Just letting you know before you read my first real chapter! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 1**

The first day of eighth grade started in tears. Thirteen was not a normal age for tears, but I was just a little freaked out.

"Eddie, I'm sure you're going to make lots of new friends. Don't worry about it, you've always been a very social boy. Now get out there and show Lansville Academy how awesome you are!"

I wasn't convinced. My mom had always been weak when it came to uplifting messages, and I couldn't stop crying. Starting at a new school made me nervous, and I had done a lot of moving around. Everywhere I went, there seemed to be someone who just hated my guts. But my mom was sure this was going to be our permanent home. Then again, she said that about every new city we settled in.

"Eddie, hurry up or you'll be late for the bus," my mother scolded me, then held her arms open for one last hug. I couldn't refuse.

Quickly wrapping my arms around her small frame, I planted a small kiss on her forehead and raced out the door. The wind in my face helped to dry the tears, and soon I was almost calm. My blue backpack bounced against my back as I tried desperately to get to the bus stop. I didn't want to be late on my first day.

Fortunately, I got onto the bus with a few seconds to spare, sitting down beside a boy that seemed to be my age. There was a bit of drool coming down his face and his hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days.

"Excuse me, but is anyone sitting here?" I questioned politely, hoping I wouldn't anger the…dirt. It wasn't possible that anyone was sitting there, right? I hoped beyond hope there was.

"Yes. His name is Seth and I would appreciate if you could move. You're sitting on him," he answered.

So, I grabbed my bag and moved. Not because there was someone in the seat. Because there was absolutely no one in that seat.

Moving back to the far end of the bus, I plopped down next to another kid that looked about thirteen, same as me. He had spiky red hair and earphones jammed into his ears. The noise was so loud that I could hear it from my seat next to me. How lucky could I be to sit next to a kid that liked Sick Puppies?

"H-hi. My name's Eddie," I stammered, facing the boy. He glanced at me and sighed, pulling his earbuds out.

"My name's Derrick. Nice to meet you. You look new," he stated, his eyes passing over me. I began to panic, thinking that already someone didn't like me. I couldn't start out on the wrong foot before I even got to school!

"Yeah, I just moved here." I was practically shaking, as Derrick's eyes were already beginning to wander.

"So, I heard your music. I like Sick Puppies too," I tried to keep the conversation going. Immediately, his expression changed and he started talking.

"Really? No one else likes them. I hear Mark's got a new girlfriend," he gushed, a smile forming on his face. Success!

"No way! Another one?" I asked. I didn't always get the updated news because my Wi-Fi was so inconsistent. But I did know that Mark, the drummer, went through girlfriends like I go through bags of chips. And that is _fast_.

"Heard she's trying to change his look. Typical girl, always hoping to redo their boyfriends to meet their standards. I'll never date," Derrick went on, rambling about how his older sister was crying in her room half the time because of her relationships.

I was just glad to have made a new friend.

My homeroom took a little finding. First, I had to go to the office to pick up a schedule. Luckily, all I had to do was follow the streams of people also going to get their class schedule. Then, I had to ask directions to my homeroom class, which was in a different building all the way across the campus. It wasn't extremely big, the school grounds, but with the chaos of first day students, the hallways were a bit dangerous.

"Let's do a quick introduction before we all go off to our classes. My name's Ms. Kelm and I'm your homeroom teacher. I also teach science class, so hopefully I'll see you all there. Alright, next!" my homeroom teacher was saying as I entered the room, a little out of breath.

"Katie Aldridge. I like to play golf."

"Markus Beauxman. Student council president."

"Rex Coleman. Future wide receiver star."

"Grace Dhari. Foreign Language club founder."

"Nellie Elliot. I went to France last summer."

"Harry Fried. Last November's Writer of the Month."

"Bailey Gerard. Volleyball rules!"

"Aaron Hews. I'm on the varsity football team and I'm only in eighth grade."

"Derrick Isard. Rock on."

"Veronica Jacobs. I've been on the cover of two magazines, so you should know me."

"Abigail Kasey. If you've never been shopping, I don't know you."

"Tracy Linkoln. No, I'm not related to the president. It's spelled with a 'k.'"

"Eddie Miller. I'm new here."

"Nancy Nelson. I got a bob haircut last weekend, so that's why my hair's different."

"Carson Olive. Fyi, I'm still dating Nancy."

"Xander Perry. Science is my favorite subject, Ms. Kelm."

"Rachel Quill. I love theatre."

"Paul Reni. Join the engineering club!"

"William Ster. Baseball is the only sport worth watching."

"Stacy Truman. And yes, I _am _in fact related to the president."

"Alexis Underwood. Part of the newly formed photography club."

"Penelope Varce. First chair flute player."

"Greg Wrey. Vote for me as treasurer!"

"James Xing. Only male cheerleader."

"Jennifer Young. I'm auditioning for a movie next month! Isn't that exciting?"

"Marie Zachary. Gamer all the way."

I knew I wasn't going to remember all those names, but I did remember some people that seemed nice. Derrick (of course), Paul, Greg, and even a few girls acted like they weren't all stuck up in their own business. Katie, Grace, and Jennifer. She was a little hyper, but that was okay. I could definitely pick out the ones to stay away from.

Nancy. Carson. Abigail. Markus. Stacy. William. Veronica.

Aaron.


	3. Chapter 2

Quick update! You should be proud of me, since I'm always like 5 days to a week in between my updates. I forgot to ask this last chapter, but if there's anyone that I named from the last chapter in Eddie's homeroom that you want to see more of, just say so in that pretty little review box. Thanks! Onto the disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis. Only this story. And Derrick. And Julian. And Katie. And Jennifer. Okay, now you can quit reading my words and get on to the fun part: reading!

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**Chapter 2**

Derrick and I had similar schedules, but not exactly the same. Luckily for me, he had the first two periods with me, which meant I could meet some of his friends and maybe have some company in the classes Derrick wasn't in.

"Hey Julian! This is Eddie. He's new and we ride on the same bus," Derrick introduced me to his friend. Julian looked pretty nice. He had blonde hair and a friendly smile, which was already a plus. Even though it sounded stupid, me liking people with a friendly smile, it was so much better than the sneers and rude gestures I normally got.

"Hi! I'm Julian. Where are you from?"

"I'm actually from Pennsylvania but I moved here because-"

I was interrupted by a group of girls who seemed to be friends with Derrick and Julian.

"Oooh, show me your schedule, Julian. Do you have any classes with me?" a brunette asked with a casual look, snatching his schedule out of his hand. I recognized her as Katie from my homeroom.

"Darn. We only have Algebra together. What about you, Derrick?" she turned to him, then noticed me. "Oh, hi. You're…Eddie, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Katie." She seemed okay, but her forcefulness with Julian had made me a bit wary of her.

"Right. Jennifer, Katie, Isabelle, this is Eddie. He rides my bus and is probably gonna hang out with us for a while."

I was amazed. I didn't even know that in high school, girls and guys still could be good friends. It was usually separated into genders, but it didn't look like this group cared.

"Okay, that's fine," a blonde with a bob haircut approved. Since I knew what Katie and Jennifer looked like, I thought that was Isabelle. She seemed shy, but she probably had a reason, just like me.

Jennifer, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

"Hi! I remember you from my homeroom. I'm Jennifer! I like singing, acting, dancing, basically everything that has to do with performing. You seem cool."

She had long brown hair and a big smile. She was a little perky, but it made me feel a little bit more comfortable talking to her.

"Jen, come on, we'll be late for class," Julian scolded, linking arms with her. Couple alert.

"Bye then! See you around!" she called back to me, before starting an animated conversation with Julian.

"We should probably be going too. The late bell rings in about thirty seconds and I heard Mr. Fredrick is really strict about having students in his class on time," Derrick commented, gesturing for me to follow him down the hall. Katie followed us, but Isabelle headed in the direction of Julian.

The bell rang just as we entered the classroom. Everyone was walking around the room, looking for a place to sit. Friends were grabbing seats next to each other, and there wasn't too many seats left. Derrick grabbed my arm and pulled me to the back of the class.

"Gotta be quick today. If you don't hurry up, you'll be stuck sitting next to someone you don't know. Or worse, someone who doesn't know you."

I knew exactly what he was talking about. The posse of make-up laden girls was clumped all the way to the side of the classroom, sharing packets of gum and digging in their little purses for extra pens.

"Hi, my name's Mr. Fredrick. I'll be your Foreign Relations teacher for this year. You'll need a notebook for this class, so be sure to get that as soon as possible. First term: world communications. I'll be giving you a pen pal to email to, since writing is so out-of-date now. But first, let me hand out the yearly objective. You must get this paper signed by a parent and returned no later than the end of this week."

Mr. Fredrick began handing papers out, and Derrick turned around to face me again.

"Okay, so let me give you the low down. Veronica, Nancy, Stacy, and Abigail are basically your four devils disguised in short skirts and tight clothes. Yeah, they're hot, but they're complete dingbats and not one of them can actually pass any of the classes by themselves. So, they cheat. Write stuff on their hands, stick a piece of paper with the answers in a mechanical pencil. You name it, they did it. Supposedly two years ago, they stole the answer key to the Science exam.

"Then you have your complete jerks in the form of jocks. Over there, in the back corner, that's Carson, Markus (but he'll punch you if you call him anything other than Mark), William, and Aaron. Again, they're not too bright, but Carson retains information better. That's why you'll usually find him in the middle of the group when they're in class. They copy off of him and usually can make C's or B's. Also, if you get too close their girlfriends, you're dead in the water. Carson's dating Nancy, and they just got together. Mark's dating Stacy, William's dating a girl a year older at a different school. Abigail's single, but not for long. Or she could be dating Frank. Either way, she makes her way around. Don't let her get to you. Because you'll be swept up in her little web of lies, and a week into your relationship, if you're not a good kisser, she'll dump you. I know. I speak from personal experience. We dated for three weeks.

"Veronica and Aaron is such a shaky topic, I'm a little afraid to go there. They are off-and-on almost constantly. They date, he touches a girl, she says he doesn't love her, she cries, they get back together, she cheats, they break up, cycling through the whole thing. Right now I think she's mad at him for ditching her on a date. You can always watch the entire thing on Facebook. It's great.

"In the middle, you have your nerds. Xavier and Xander (who are more commonly referred to as The Twins), Nellie, Harry, Grace, Megan, and Avery. They pass every class, and stick together like glue. Mostly because they are completely against cheating and would rather share their own little nerdy answers rather than help the rest of the class.

"Then you have those people who you know are gonna be famous, because they're perfect at everything. Rachel's a comedic genius, Penelope's a goddess on the flute, Molly's a national gymnast, and even Jennifer's a part of that group. Because seriously, she's perfect. Great smile, great grades, great singer, great actress, great everything. She's friends with everybody because she's super bubbly. I'm surprised she's not a Popular, but she's really nice. Julian and her have been going steady for about two months and they are absolutely the cutest couple ever. Don't tell anyone I said that though."

"You sound like…" I started, then stopped because I didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious. I used to like her a lot, but now she's just a friend. Anyway, those are the basic groups. Then there's nerdy jocks, and semi-popular nerds, and nameless Populars, but they're just small groups. That's everything you need to know for-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Isard, may I be the only one speaking?"

I didn't know how Mr. Fredrick knew Derrick's name, but it scared the living poop out of Derrick and he blushed as red as his hair.

"Thank you. Now, I've assigned you all a pen pal from a school we've partnered up with for this project. At the end of the year, we'll take a field trip to spend a week at their school. This is Foreign Relations, after all. Anyway, back to the meaning of this class. It's important for people, especially young people, to understand how the Earth works, to every vast corner of its surface."

Derrick turned around again as soon the teacher began writing on the board.

"This guy is supposed to be all deep and thorough, like some kind of meditator or something. Believes in self-oneness and a bunch of nonsense crap."

A girl with short black hair in pigtails raised her hand from the middle when the teacher had written down everything he wanted us to 'achieve in the class.' Nerd. Grace.

"Uh, referring back to the pen pal idea Mr. Fredrick, how is the idea of communicating with another kid considered Foreign Relations? It's just a pen pal."

Mr. Fredrick laughed a little, then addressed the class again. "Of course! I forgot to tell you! Your pen pals are from another country!"

"Which country?" a boy from the corner shouted. Jock. William.

"England."

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dur dur DUUUUUURRRRR! ;) And so the connection begins.


	4. Chapter 3

Well, since not a lot of people have been reviewing or following this story, I guess it doesn't really matter to you guys that I update every two weeks. I think it's just gonna become the norm. Anyway, this story is quickly losing its flame because NO ONE IS REVIEWING. So, it would be nice if I could get a few before I post the next chapter. PLEASE tell me what you want to see happen because I LOVE reading your reviews! I don't care if you're a guest, please please please review! I don't own HOA, so now you can read!

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**Chapter 3**

"Well, Mr. Isard, looks like you've got Alexander Ruil. Here's his email address and," he paused, staring Derrick in the eye, "do NOT share the email with others. And that goes for all of you." Mr. Fredrick glanced at the class, then resumed his kindly nature once more.

"Mr. Miller, seems you have a girl pen pal. I tried not to mix genders, but I hope you don't mind," he commented, almost sadly, slipping me a piece of paper with the email on it.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fredrick. It doesn't matter to me," I responded quickly, peeking at the page.

patriciawilliamson0323

So this was the girl I would be talking to for the rest of the year. I would have to get to know her, probably pretend to be friends with her, and she'd probably be one of those girls who would fall in love with the guy she's talking to via email.

What a pathetic sob story.

"Alright, so we're taking a quick trip to the computer lab to make _sure _you email them. They received your emails yesterday, or what is considered yesterday to us because their time zone is much different from ours, so expect an email from them in your inbox."

I sighed, reaching for my school bag. Quickly, I noticed everyone was simply filing out of the room and not bothering to grab their bags, so I left mine and caught up with Derrick as he was leaving.

"Wow, you have a girl pen pal," he stated as we walked down the clean hallway, our sneakers squeaking on the clean floor.

"Whoopie. Big deal," I replied dully, letting my arms hang by my sides. I definitely didn't want to get caught up in the drama that involved partners of the opposite gender from around the world, but school came first. I'd never talk to her outside of the computer lab.

"Now, get on your email and start typing. I don't want to be in here all day," Mr. Fredrick demanded as we entered the computer lab and the seats filled up at an alarming rate. Again, I was yanked to the far corner of the room by Derrick and shoved into a plastic chair next to him.

"What did I tell you about being fast?" he hissed under his breath to avoid Mr. Fredrick's hawk-like gaze. Already I had seen a bad start to the student-teacher relationship.

My eyes were glued to screen for a while after that, clicking on the Internet, waiting for the link to load, typing in the username and password, waiting some more, and finally having the email itself pull up.

I did not expect what I was about to read.

From: _patriciawilliamson0323 _

To: _eddiesmiller _ (when I was typing my username, I accidentally started to write 'Sweet' and messed up)

** Hi.**

** My name is Patricia Williamson. I'm from England, if you don't know already. Nothing against you, but I really don't want to do this project. But, since I have to make this email 100 words, I'll do my best to explain myself.**

** I have auburn hair and green eyes. That's all you need to know about my appearance. I like rock and roll music, so that probably makes me seem uncool to you, but honestly, I don't care. My favorite color is black, and no, I'm not emo. I just like it.**

** Well, that's 93 words right there, so I'll just waste the other 7 here. There we go. Count if you want, it's over 100. Maybe we can be friends, but not many people seem to connect with me. Although, I do have some really great friends. **

** So, is there anything you like? **

At first, I was completely shocked. I thought pen pals were supposed to be overly friendly, bubbly, and seemingly perfect. But this girl, Patricia, acted different. Well, indifferent really. She didn't care what people thought about her, even if they were halfway across the globe. She liked rock and roll, which was certainly _not _weird to me, but I guess if she would've gotten anyone else, it would.

So, I began typing a response.

**Hi.**

** My name is Eddie Miller. I'm from America, if you didn't already know. I really don't want to do this project either, but you actually seem a lot cooler than what I first expected.**

** I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I guess you could say I'm tall, and I like to play football. Don't worry, I like rock and roll too. Ever heard of Sick Puppies? It's my favorite band, but I'm sure if they're very popular in England. Anyway, I like coffee and sports and just laughing. My main duties include taking care of my mom, going to school, and I also offer grass-cutting services. I haven't had a chance to do that yet in my neighborhood because I just moved, but it's a way of making money.**

** I really hope that we can still be friends, even you're not that interested. I mean, we don't have to talk outside of school (too much work) but at least you won't hate me.**

** I think that's over 100 words.**

Only seconds after I pressed the send button and logged out of my email account, Mr. Fredrick gave a yell.

"Everyone, back to the class. It's almost time to go!"

Wow, time went by quickly. Making sure I didn't make any unnecessary noises as I crossed the squeaky clean hallway (that I sure would be scuffed up and dull by next week) to the classroom.

Mr. Fredrick didn't seem like the teacher people would hate, but I was kind of glad the class was about to end. I was kind of glad I hate a pen pal like Patricia, but I didn't think she'd be exactly thrilled about the idea of us becoming friends. I didn't have a lot of people who just wanted to get to know me and hadn't really judged me based on my social status in school. She could know the real me without seeing whatever it was that made kids move to the other side of the room when I came in.

Turned out, Mr. Fredrick's wristwatch was thirty minutes too fast, so we sat in the old plastic desks, going around and sharing our names with each other. I saw Abigail do a double take when I stood up to say my name. The flattery I felt was soon washed away when I remembered what Derrick had said to me.

_ She makes her way around._

Great. A girl who wanted to get into everyone's pants. What a catch.

People recited their names quickly, so after that was over, Mr. Fredrick began talking to us about how he felt like he was going to a fatherly figure to us all. I tuned him out after a few minutes of that. He was pretty young to be a teacher, much less a patriarchal example to the rest of the airheads in the class.

The bell rang about ten minutes later, answering my prayers, and I raced out of the room. In the hurry, I forgot all about Derrick and as I sped through the doorway, I stopped. I wanted to wait for him, but before I could move out of the way, a heavy force did it for me.

Aaron.

"Hey, watch where you're going, newbie!" he shouted, pushing me almost to the ground. "Don't you know it's not polite to block the path of people above you?"

I grumbled, wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my khakis. Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight.

So paralyzed was I, that I didn't even move out of Aaron and his friends' way.

"Oh, you think you're so tough, huh? Gonna wait for me to throw the first punch? Well, you won't have to wait forever because-"

"Back off, Aaron."

Derrick came from nowhere, pulling me backwards by my arm. If he didn't stop doing that, I would probably lose my arm by the end of the day. But I was still grateful.

"Oh, no, I'm so scared of you, Derrick. So, so scared!" he mocked in a high-pitched voice.

And then he was gone. Him and his jock friends had their backs to us, laughing about something. Probably me. However, as long as it wasn't in front of me, I felt a little bit better about it.

"Wow, you sure are a magnet for trouble," Derrick said in a whisper as I made my way to my next class.

Math. Oh the joys of being alive.


	5. Chapter 4

Sorry for the shortness! I promise to make the next chapter 2000+ words, okay? To make up for this? I can't actually hear you, so I'll take that silence as a yes! **Special shoutout to april243!** Thank you so much, but I'm not that great of a writer! You made my day, though! Also, I got so many reviews for last chapter! I was so so so so happy, so I was wondering if possibly you could do it again? I'll give a shoutout to the first two reviewers, if you want. Alright, I do not own House of Anubis. There we go. Now, reeeeead on! **If you're interested in participating a contest I started, check out "Operation Imagine".**

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**Chapter 4**

Math turned out to go exactly the way I had predicted it. Badly. But I got to sit next to a few people I knew, like Isabelle and Julian. Derrick _was _sitting across from me, but he got moved for talking too much. Now he sits in the back of the room. Ms. Reed, our math teacher, was about skinny as a toothpick, and twice as sharp. Her high heels clicked as she walked around the room, staring at all of us as we took a test. On the first day of school. Although, she called it a "diagnostic overview." Whatever. Test.

"You are not to speak while taking a test!" she snapped at a kid, I think his name was Harry.

"Sorry, ma'am. Won't happen again," he mumbled, his face coloring a bright shade of red. I lowered my head closer to the paper, trying to concentrate on the numbers in front of me.

But I just couldn't. This girl Patricia was still on my mind. She seemed so foreign, yet only lived across the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the expectations of a perky teenager happy to live a scene right from a movie, she was different. And something about her pushing me away made me want to befriend her more. Could she really be as blunt and rude as she acted? I knew more about masks than anyone else. Every day, I had to mask my fear of getting pushed into a locker, or being left alone by someone I trusted. Possibly the thought of losing my mom, or getting used to my new dad that also happens to be running for mayor in this town made me retreat farther into my shell, but I wanted to stop whatever was happening to me from infecting someone else, especially someone my age.

"Ten minutes. Mr. Miller, I suggest you stop daydreaming and pay attention to the task at hand."

I shook my head, clearing all my worries of my twisted family and social needs. First things first, I needed an education. Ms. Reed was a stuck-up priss, but I was going to need to rely on her knowledge to pull me through to ninth grade.

A.

D.

B.

B.

A.

C.

Done. I scrambled to turn my test in just as the bell rang. Kids were swinging their backpacks as I placed the eraser-marked papers on the teacher's desk. Rushing out of there as fast as I could, I caught up with Derrick as he was talking to Julian about something. For a guy who used to have a crush on his friend's girlfriend, he was acting pretty cool around Julian.

"Hey, do either of you know where English and Reading is? I have Mr. Benks, room 22," I stated as I pulled up next to Derrick. Julian unfolded his schedule, then smiled.

"I have the same class with you. Come on, we'll meet up with Jen and head over," he responded, jerking his head in the direction of another hallway.

Jen caught up with us, rambling on about how Mr. Herbert, the History teacher, had a dull voice and how she heard Mr. Benks was the nicest of all the eighth grade staff members.

"Well, Ms. Reed is definitely the worst. We just had her and she gave us a test," I butted into the conversation as we entered the classroom.

"Ugh! How are we supposed to know everything we learned from last year! All that swimming I did had to have washed out something important," she joked, taking a seat near the back.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," Julian reassured her, taking the seat in front of her.

I sat awkwardly in the desk next to Julian and waited patiently for class to start. Of course, that was the perfect time to let my mind wander to Patricia again. What did she like to do in her spare time? Were her friends just as fiery? Was England really that different from America?

My mind was never truly focused on what Mr. Benks was saying. He seemed pretty nice, considering the fact that he didn't give us a test. But Patricia's imaginary face kept looming out of the corners of my mind. I barely heard the bell ring, and only realized that class was over when I heard the rumble of feet around me.

"Jen, what classroom is Social Studies? I packed my schedule up already," I asked as the three of us exited the room.

"Room 11 I think. It's right next to the water fountain."

"Thanks."

I scurried off quickly, but not before bumping into a girl with her nose buried in her schedule. Her binder fell open and papers fell everywhere, scattering the floor with writings and little drawings.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I'm new here and I just wasn't looking! Oh no, I hope I don't make you late for class!" she worried, snatching at looseleaf pages and cramming her binder. As I handed her a few papers that had fallen my way, I glanced at the name.

"No, really, it's my fault. Where are you headed?"

"A Ms. Reed's classroom," she replied, pulling out a now-crumpled schedule.

"Turn left here, second door on the right. You can't miss it."

"Thank you so much. I can't believe you're helping me after I just knocked into you."

"Seriously, Nina. It was my mistake."


	6. Chapter 5

And two weeks later, I'm back! **Quick announcement, I am having a contest for anyone who's interested. Go check that out on my profile, it's called Operation Imagine.** I really really love reading your work and this is an opportunity to get your stories out there! Alright, now to fun part! This is where the story gets a _bit _more interesting. I don't own House of Anubis or Eddie or Patricia. Only Derrick and his bright red hair.

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**Chapter 5**

The rest of the day passed by in a whir of activity. History hadn't seemed too bad. The teacher, Mr. Pretus, gave off the image of a young and vibrant guy. Unfortunate for him that he got one of the most horrible jobs (in my opinion) out there. P. E. was taught by Miss Georgeman, a woman who looked like she could hardly do one pushup, much less the twenty she assigned us at the beginning of class. I could tell I would grow to hate both her and the class, but what could I do? My last period was Music with Mrs. Otto. She was a kind lady that was also determined to "bring out the musical prodigy in us all." Derrick could play guitar, and I followed him around as he scrambled to find something for me to do. Eventually, he got Mrs. Otto to tutor me in piano. Both Isabelle and Jennifer could play, she told me, and they would be all too glad to help.

I quickly learned that piano was not my forte. Get it? Music joke? Forte as in my specialty and the sound? No…okay, Derrick told me that one.

Drums was confusing because there wasn't really anything _musical _about it to me. It was just rhythms and hitting a round thing. Flute…just no. Clarinets…same reason. Trumpet…one of the kids picks his nose. Trombones? The section was made up of mostly seniors making dirty jokes. Tubas? Well, the school had one and it was beat up pretty bad. Saxophones and bells were a no too, because the sections were, like, one person.

So Mrs. Otto threw into the choir. I didn't have anywhere to go, and the instruments that were offered to me were all crap. And I hated it at first. It was mainly girls and Mrs. Otto needed "a strong, deep voice to carry the bass." Well, there was no way I was actually going to stay.

"Look, Mrs. Otto. I would love to learn to play guitar. Really, I would."

"But dear, we have _no _boys in the choir! We need you!"

"I'm not interested in singing! I don't have a good voice at all!"

"But sweetheart, it's so much more than singing. It's about the voice, and the tone. And I'm sure you have a simply wonderful voice. Everyone's shy at first, but we're here to get better, not to judge. It isn't American Idol. Come on, you have friends here!"

I looked at the group, but the only people I recognized were Jennifer, Katie, and a girl from Math class.

"…I really don't want to."

"We take a trip every year to the beach with the band."

And that was how I ended up signing myself up for choir. I asked Mrs. Otto if they ever sang in front of the school ( to see if there was any way I could be humiliated further), and she replied with a very ambiguous "When the time is right."

For me, that time would be never.

Derrick didn't ride the bus in the afternoon, so the way back home was very quiet. I listened to a few songs on my MP3. It had been my mom's when she was in surgery and had nothing to do. Tells you how off I am with the times. Then again, I do have to ride my bike all the way to the library if I need a computer.

"Hey Mom! I'm home!" I screamed as I opened the front door. Instantly, the scent of cookies met my nose, and in a split second, I was plopped down in the kitchen, practically panting.

"How was your day, honey? Did you make new friends?" my mom asked, rolling herself over and handing me a plate of chocolate chip cookies. My favorite.

"Actually, it was a lot better than I thought it would go. I made a friend on the bus. Derrick. He likes Sick Puppies and he can play guitar. Then he has these other friends that are pretty cool. Julian, he plays football and baseball. Katie, she's a golfer. Isabelle's pretty quiet, but she's really smart. Jennifer is auditioning for a movie, she told us," I tell my mother through a mouthful of cookie. She seems pleased with my choice of friends and even inquires about a few of them. How did I meet Derrick? Was I interested in trying out for a sports team now that I knew someone that was athletic? What movie was my friend auditioning for? Would Isabelle help me with homework?

"And we're doing a project for Foreign Relations. We have a pen pal from England that we have to email to and I think the teacher said something about visiting them at the end of the year. Mine's name is Patricia," I babbled on, licking my lips for the last crumbs of my snack.

"Oooh, a girl," said a voice from behind me.

"Hey Mark," I greeted, trying to be cheerful. Mark Miller was a good guy, but I never felt like we connected. I wasn't comfortable with calling him Dad and the few times we had spent time together didn't really involve communication. Movies. Arcade. Music store.

"I trust your day at school was eventful?" he asked politely, walking over and kissing my mother on the cheek.

"You bet it was," I mumbled more to myself, reminded of choir.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to give you, Eddie. Before I forget. Suitable for your first day at a new school," he exclaimed, running out the room.

"What is it?" I asked my mom, but she simply smiled and shook her head.

"Wait."

He emerged from the hallway a minute later, carrying a big box in both of his hands. Wrapped in blue paper, he placed down in front of me. As he got close to me, I could smell his nice cologne and feel the expensiveness on his professional suit.

"For you, from us." Us. Him and my mother. But mostly him. My mom didn't work anymore, due to her wheelchair and inability to walk. Mark managed almost the entire family, and I was grateful for that. I wasn't like most step-sons, who hated the guy their mom remarried. I had no reason to. There wasn't really a memory of my real dad left.

I tore open the wrapping paper, anxious to see what was inside. I ripped off the tape on the flaps and flung them to the sides.

"A laptop! An _Apple _laptop! This must have cost you a fortune! Thank you so so much!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down joyfully. For once, I didn't have to act like a teenager. This was a gift from the heavens!

"I'm sure it will help with your pen pal project too," my mother commented, smiling. "Go upstairs! Plug it in! Try it out, it's all set up for you."

Without hesitation, I raced upstairs to jam the power cable into the wall socket. Connecting it into my computer, my heart skipped a beat when the blue monitor lit up and a picture of Mark, my mother, and I dominated the home screen.

Internet was a priority. I clicked on the icon, and it brought up the search page. Awesome. Then, I looked at my inbox, which was another icon on my home screen. When I brought that up, the email from Patricia jumped out at me.

_patriciawilliamson0323 _

Opening up the message, I reread the entire thing. When I got to the bottom, I saw the insignia of what seemed to be the school, although it was a strange name.

Anubis House.

I can't remember the time exactly, but it was around that moment that my hand started glowing.


End file.
